NEW ORLEANS — 46-year-old Spencer Hudson has worked as a bartender at the Cat’s Meow karaoke bar on Bourbon Street off and on for more than 20 years.
He is described as a fun loving, active and great person to be around.
“He was a great individual,” said Dave Onstad, the GM of Cat’s Meow. “Everyone liked him. Not a mean bone in his body. He was a real Renaissance man, he really was.”
Hudson was working his shift early Sunday morning when things got out of hand outside of the bar. He likely wasn’t aware of the skirmish outside that would eventually cost him his life.
Hudson was hit in the chest by a stray bullet fired from the street. 24-year-old Daphney Jackson was apparently in a fight with someone when police said she fired gunshots, one of which struck Hudson. She was arrested at the scene.
One employee described Hudson as the “glue” of the place. The bar was closed Sunday. It’s normally closed early in the week, but will be closed for a couple of extra days as the team processes what happened.
NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said guns and alcohol on a crowded street like Bourbon, is a deadly combination.
“There’s absolutely no reason to go on Bourbon Street or any place you’re going to take in alcohol or anything else and be armed,” he said. “That is a bad combination, and, at the end of the day, we have to realize that.”
Former Cat’s Meow employee Dominique Thompson, who knew Hudson for more than a decade, agreed with the chief.
“What would have prevented his death is if this woman wasn’t allowed to get onto Bourbon Street with a gun in the first place.”
“I’ve been hearing that we should do metal detectors on Bourbon Street,” she added. “We should block it off to traffic.”
Onstad said crime has gotten worse in the last five to ten years. “We have less police, less police presence. Then you have citizens and politicians disrespecting the police. That’s what’s going to happen.”
Cat’s Meow will eventually reopen, possibly by the weekend, but things won’t be the same. They can’t be.
“He was always active, living life… it’s unbelievable he’s gone now. His spirit will always be with us, but he will be sorely missed.”